Home Brewing

Here is a two part look at the basic process of extract beer brewing. The most important thing in all beer brewing is making sure all of the equipment that will come into contact with your beer is sanitized first. It is not a bad idea to keep a spray bottle of sanitizer and water nearby, as often in the beer brewing process it is necessary to re-sanitize something. Alternatively, you could keep a bucket with sanitizer nearby as well. You could use a bottling bucket, or a secondary bucket that comes with many starter kits.

Next, you need to have your water ready. You can use tap water, or bottled water. If you use tap water, you want to make sure to boil it for 15 minutes to boil off the chlorine before using it for your beer.

Next, you will want to make sure you have all of your beer ingredients in place. If you are brewing with an ingredient kit, then you will only have a few items. Some more advanced kits will include specialty grains that come with mesh bags. If the grains haven't been crushed, you will need to crush them yourself before placing them in the bag and steeping them. You can use a rolling pin for this. Then, simply follow the kit instructions.

Bring your water to a boil, and remove from the stove. Stir in the malt extract and stir thoroughly so that the extract doesn't sink to the bottom and become scorched. Then put the pot back onto the heat for however long the instructions call for. Keep a watch on the pot to avoid messy boilovers. You may want to keep a spray bottle of water nearby to help prevent a boilover. Simply spray down the foam. One note--this spray bottle should only contain water, do not mix it up with the spray bottle of sanitized water!) During the boil, you can add hops accordingly. Bittering hops are added early in the boil and boiled the longest, while aromatic and flavoring hops are added closer to the end.

After you have completed the boil, you need to quickly cool your wort to below 80 degrees. This is easily done with an ice bath in the kitchen sink or bathtub. You can also buy an immersion chiller to speed up the process. Once the wort has cooled, you are ready to transfer it to the fermenter.

If you splash your wort during the transfer, this is ok to do. You do not want to splash or agitate your beer at any other time during the beer brewing process because this will allow air into your beer, and air contains germs, bacteria and wild yeasts, all of which will infect your beer.

However, at this point in the beer brewing process it is ok to allow in oxygen because your wort now needs oxygen for the yeast that you are about to add. Again, this is the only time you want to aerate your beer. Otherwise, keep air out!

Since you are extract brewing, then you will likely be doing what is called a partial boil. You will not be actually brewing 5 gallons of wort. This means you will be using top off water--adding water to the wort in the fermenter to make a full 5 gallon batch. The fact that you are using top off water means you do not have to take any additional steps to aerate the wort. The top off water will provide plenty of oxygen for the yeast.

In beer brewing, the process of fermentation begins with the pitching of the yeast. Pitching is a fancy brew term that basically means adding the yeast to the cooled wort. Depending on what type of yeast you use, there may be some preliminary steps necessary to have the yeast ready to pitch. It is important that the wort has cooled to below 80F and has also been aerated before pitching. If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast, and the yeast need oxygen for feeding.

It is also highly recommended that you take a specific gravity reading prior to pitching the yeast. Those new to beer brewing will usually start with the dry yeast that is included with most kits. This can be added directly to the wort. There is also liquid yeast available; if you use this you must first make a starter for the yeast before pitching. For partial mash and all grain full boils, pitching requires a couple additional steps to happen before you can add the yeast.

First, you must strain off the boil of hot break materials, spent grains and hops. There are a couple ways to do this, and a mash/lauter tun helps to cool and strain the wort. 5 gallons or more of wort takes some time to cool, and this leaves the wort at risk of oxygen and contaminates. You need to cool your wort quickly, as you do not want to leave it in the danger temperature range (about 80F to 165F) for infection and bacteria.

Once you have your wort cooled and in the fermenter, you will need to aerate the wort. This may sound contradictory. Up until now you have been told that oxygen is bad for your beer. Now, you are being told to add oxygen. However, at this point it is not only ok to let oxygen into your wort, it is necessary. Introduce oxygen too early to your wort and you risk contamination. But after the boil, it is necessary that you re-introduce oxygen because your yaest will need it. During the boil, oxygen was boiled off.

Once you have aerated, then pitch the yeast and then seal up the fermenter. So, what are effective ways to aerate? There are many options. Fortunately, there are many ways to do this that does not require any specialized equipment. You may decide to buy something for this, and there are many do it yourself options as well, but there are plenty of manual methods that work just fine.

 If you are doing a partial boil, you will aerate the wort simply by the addition of top off water. This water will already have oxygen in it. When you pour the wort in the fermenter, allow it to splash, this will agitate it and oxidize it. After racking the wort and sealing it, you can shake the fermenter vigorously for a few minutes. You can also use a large spoon or paddle to stir the wort continuously. Each of these methods may not be enough, so you can try them together to make sure.

Your LHBS will have aeration kits for sale, or you can find them online. Some brewers will connect some tubing to an aquarium pump and use that to blow air into the wort. Search You Tube and you can find videos of people that added a sanitized stirring rod to an electric drill for and easy and quick aerator.

So, what exactly are steeping, partial mash and mashing? All are steps in the process of home brewing that lead up to all grain home brewing. It is important to note that although each style is a progressive step leading to all grain, all grain home brewing isn't the ultimate goal for all home brewers. While many brewers get deep into this hobby and work towards eventually brew the all grain way, many brewers are happy to stop at some point along the way and continue to brew in that way.

 Some never make it to all grain home brewing, and have no interest in trying it. This is completely fine, and that is what home brewing is all about. Find what way to make beer works best for you and stick with it. You may decide at some point to try something new, or you may just be happy to continue doing what works for you. Each progressive step allows the home brewer to have more control over the final flavor of their beer.

Steeping grains allows you to add flavors that you won't get with extract. Partial mashing, also known as mini mashing, allows you to introduce base malt from grains, and mashing is all grain home brewing. Each step offers more ingredients to choose from, and new variables to your beer recipe. It is very similar to cooking. In cooking you can learn about new ingredients and spices which will allow you to create a wider variety of dishes.

 Here is a simplistic look at the home brewing spectrum. Most brewers start out with a kit, which is extract brewing. They get hooked, but want to expand their options in order to have more control over the final product. The next step would be to add steeped specialty grains to the mix. After that, the next step would be to partial mash, in which you replace some of the malt extract with the base grain. Finally, there is all grain home brewing in which you brew completely from grains and use no malt extract.

Again, it is a personal decision if you want to try all of these methods, a couple of them, or just stick with one. You don't necessarily have to start with extract brewing, but it is a good idea to get a few batches under your belt so you better understand the basic process of home brewing before trying all grain. Plus, all grain requires additional equipment and steps. No matter what way you want to go, don't be afraid to experiment and try new methods of home brewing. The best part is that along your journay you will get to enjoy some great beer!

Hops are used in beer brewing for a variety of reasons. Hops are dried flowers that flavor beer and are also utilized for their ability to act as a preservative. Prior to hops, brewers used a variety of flowers and herbs, but once it was discovered that beer made with hops were less prone to spoiling, the herbs and flowers were abandoned in favor of hops.

In addition to the preservative nature of hops, hops are used in beer brewing because they add bitterness, flavor and aroma. The bitterness of hops helps balance the sweetness of the malt. As is the case with grapes, where hops are grown affects the characteristics of the hops. How much of each quality hops contribute to the beer depends on how long the hop is in the boil, as well as which variety of hops is used.

 Hops are classified as either bittering hops or aroma hops. The contributing ingredients in hops are the oils and resins. The oils are what contribute aroma and flavor, and the resins contribute bitterness. The resins contain alpha and or beta acids, which impart the bitterness. The oils boil off faster, the resins take longer. The more time the hops spend in the brewing kettle, the more bitterness they will contribute. But, they will give less aroma and flavor.

In general terms, bittering hops will need to be boiled for at least 15 minutes, and usually longer--up to an hour and even longer than that. On the other hand, flavoring hops are boiled for no more than 15 minutes, and aromatic hops for no more than 5 minutes. You can also opt to add aromatic hops after the boil in the fermenter, a common practice that is known as "dry hopping".

The amount of bitterness within a hop is measured in IBUs (International Bitterness Units) which basically measures the amount of alpha acid in a hop variety. The preservative quality in hops also affected the development of certain beer styles. For instance, India Pale Ale as well as many other styles of beer that was intended for export had higher hop bitterness to help preserve the beer during transport. These beer styles often had higher alcohol levels to balance the beers flavor.

 For the longest time hops have been produced in Europe. However, today hops are grown worldwide. The variety of hops are named for the specific city or region in which they were first grown. Some well known varieties include Hallertau from Germany, Williamette Valley and Yakima Valley form Washington State and Oregon, and Kent and Worcestershire from England. Germany still has more hop growing area than any other country.

Four varieties of hops are classified as The Noble Hops: Hallertau, Tettnanger, Spalt and Saaz. These varieties contain a large amount of hop oil, and very little alpha or beta acids. This means that they are aromatic hops that impart little bitterness. These hops provide the characterisitic aroma and flavor of classic European lager beer styles that include Pilsener, Dunkel, and Oktoberfest.

Hops for home brewing come in a variety of different styles. You can buy them in 3 different kinds of forms. First, there are whole, dried hops, which is the preferred type for dry hopping. Second, there are hops pellets, which are compressed into pellet shape. These have a better shelf life and also absorb less wort than whole hops. Finally, there are hop plugs, which are also compressed hops into standard sizes and weights.

Hops are native to most parts of the world and are easy to grow. Many home brewers decide to grow their own hops for their beer brewing. It is important to remember that hops are perishable, so any extra hops you do not use immediately for beer brewing should be refrigerated.

One of the most exciting moments in the beer brewing process is when your beer has completed fermentation. At this point, it's ready to drink right? Actually, at this point you still have a ways to go, so you need to resist temptation to drink it. Besides, it isn't ready yet and probably won't taste good anyway. At this point, your beer is flat. You must first carbonate and bottle it, then let it bottle age and fully carbonate. Once you have done this, then you can enjoy some of your hard work.

The carbonation part of the beer brewing process is rather easy. Bottling can be a little tricky, but here is a quick run through the after fermentation part of the beer brewing process. If you are brewing with a kit, it probably came with some priming sugar. If not, you will need to purchase some separately. Do not substitute table sugar for this.

The instructions that came with the kit may instruct you to add sugar to each bottle individually, but there is a better way to do this. Instead, calculate the total amount of sugar required in the entire recipe, and dissolve that into a quart of water and boil. Make sure the sugar gets completely dissolved. Then, let the mixture cool to 70F, and add it to your bottling bucket before you rack your beer into it. This is known as Bulk Priming.

It is important to also remember that before you add anything to the bottling bucket that all equipment, including the bucket be sanitized first. When it comes to the actual bottling, you will need a bottling bucket, siphon tubing, a racking cane, a bottling wand, bottles (at least 50 12 oz bottles), bottle caps and a capper. You don't necessarily need all of these items to bottle, such as the auto siphon or the wand, but these additional items make the process much easier.

Once you add the sugar water to the bottling bucket, then carefully add your beer from the fermenter. Be careful that you do not splash or agitate the beer, this will introduce oxygen and possibly contaminate your beer. Attach some tubing to the spigot, and attach the bottling wand to the end of the tubing. Then, simply press down on the wand onto the bottom of the bottle and fill.

 As an advantage, the bottle wand will leave the perfect amount of headspace in your beer due to displacement. By pressing the tip to the bottom of the bottle you also avoid splashing and aeration. The wand makes the process easier because you control the flow of beer--you can turn the flow on and off simply by pressing and releasing the wand.

If you are filling bottles without a wand, you will still want to make sure you are leaving enough headspace in the bottle. Failing to do so can lead to bottle bombs. You are creating CO2 (carbonation) and that pressure has to have somewhere to go if you do not leave some space. Then, simply cap each bottle and store in a cool dark place. Ideally, you will want to store your beer at temperatures between 65F and 75F degrees.

It will take about 3 weeks for your beer to become fully carbonated. Make sure to keep your beer away from light, and keep the temperature at a constant. Once it is fully carbonated, the beer is finally ready to put in the fridge and enjoy.

When you are first learning how to make beer, you will see information about primary fermentation and secondary fermentation. It is common for new brewers to wonder just how long it takes to ferment beer. The answer can vary, and there really isn't one right answer. Many factors influence this, and it comes down to whether you will secondary ferment or not.

First of all, secondary fermentation is actually not fermentation. You do not rack your beer to secondary until after it has completed the fermentation process in the primary. The secondary fermentation is done to clarify and condition the beer, and no actual fermentation takes place. The clarification and conditioning can also be done in the primary fermenter as well. Sound a little confusing?

One reason those just starting to learn how to make beer get confused is because of experiences with kit brewing. Often, these instructions will tell you that your beer will be done fermenting in a week. Although this is possible, this isn't always true. It is also possible that fermentation is not complete, which can lead to bottle bombs. Or worse, you can experience what is known as a stuck fermentation, in which fermentation stops mid way through and does not complete. This will lead to bad tasting beer.

The key to remember when learning how to make beer is that allowing your beer time to age makes for better beer. It is important to let your beer completely ferment before moving on to the next stage. The simple answer for how long fermentation takes is about 10 days.  The time it takes depends on the lag time--how long it takes fermentation to start after the yeast has been pitched. This varies and depends on the type of yeast used, and the condition and age of the yeast. Lag times can be as short as an hour or two, and on up to 72 hours.

As you are learning how to make beer, you will likely read many varying opinions on how long to ferment in the primary. Just because fermentation completes in 7-10 days does not mean your beer is ready to drink. Chances are, it isn't ready to do anything with just yet. Remember, beer likes time.

Another common mistake among new brewers is not allowing the beer enough time to age in the bottle.  You don't want to drink a beer right after bottling it, or within the first couple weeks of bottling because it is not yet carbonated. Some kits may tell you that your beer is ready to drink after a week in the bottle, but you are better off waiting a couple weeks, as your beer will taste much better.

Then there is the issue of whether or not to secondary ferment. Many home brewers skip this altogether, and instead keep the beer in the primary for a few additional weeks. The secondary clarifies and conditions the beer, but you can also accomplish this in the primary by leaving it in there for a couple additional weeks. This keeps you from having to rack the beer to the secondary and exposing it to the air, which increases the risk potential for contamination.

So why then would you secondary ferment? If you are brewing a lighter colored beer, then the secondary might be better to help with the clarity. If you were to add fruit to your beer, then you will want to do this in the secondary, not the primary. Also, if all you have is a bucket and a carboy, then racking to the second will free up the bucket to brew another batch. This way you will constantly have home brew on hand. On the flip side, you could just purchase an additional fermenter to make this happen.

 As far as how long to leave the beer in the primary of you do not secondary, opinions differ. The easy answer is not to bottle right after 10 days. You could if you really wanted to, but the additional time in the fermenter will make your beer much better. In researching this on forums, you will see numbers like 1-2-3 or 3-2-3. These indicate the number of weeks in the primary, secondary and bottles.

If you bypass secondary, then look to leave your beer in the primary for 3 to 4 weeks, and an additional 2-3 weeks in the bottles. Sure, the kit instructions don't tell you to wait that long, but it will be worth the wait. It's tough, especially on your first batch, to wait that long to drink the beer, but it will greatly improve your beer.

To avoid the wait, make sure to have an additional fermenter handy so you can always have another batch of brew going, and that will keep you stocked with home brew while waiting on the next batch. Or, make the leap into kegging and cut down on the wait time. 

A common do it yourself project in home brewing is converting a cooler into a mash tun. When building a mash tun, there are several options available to use for the filtration system. It will likely come down to personal preference, but it will also depend upon what type of sparging you use. The basic options are a mesh filter, also known as a bazooka filter, a manifold, or a false bottom.

If you will fly sparge, then you will want to use a false bottom. The bazooka filter is simply a piece of water supply line, such as a toilet supply line hose that comes with a stainless steel mesh cover. Carefully remove the outer mesh cover from the inner vinyl hose, and discard the hose. You then connect the mesh cover to the spigot with clamps, and this acts as a filter for the wort. The wort passes through the mesh, but the debris from the grain gets left behind.

This is probably the most popular design for home made mash tuns in the home brewing world. Alternatively, some brewers choose to build a manifold using pipes made from copper or CVPC. The pipes are connected in a square or rectangle, or as arms branching off. This manifold attaches to the spigot. Tiny holes or slits are drilled or cut into the pipes to act as filters. If you choose to use a manifold system, be sure you don't glue the pieces together. You will want to be able to take the apparatus apart after each use to clean and sanitize.

False bottoms are another option, and are usually the choice if you will fly sparge. With fly sparging, you are constantly pouring water back over the grain bed. You want to avoid channeling, in which the water pours too heavily in certain parts of the grain bed, creating channels. This only rinses parts of the grain bed, while leaving other parts unrinsed. A false bottom prevents this, and allows the wort to flow evenly through the grain bed to ensure all the grains get thoroughly rinsed and the sugars are fully extracted.

Another option is one that is closely tied into the BIAB home brewing method in which no filter system is used. Instead, you use a standard cooler that hasn't been converted. You place a grain bag into the cooler, strecthing the bag over the sides of the cooler. Then, pour the water over the grains just like you would for a batch sparge.

This accomplishes the same result as a batch sparge, but doesn't require a converted cooler. This may be an option if you are new to the world of all grain home brewing, but converting a cooler will probably be worth the effort as it would increase the efficiency. Plus, this step is more for sparging. You wouldn't be able to mash in an unconverted cooler, but if you want to try the BIAB method before jumping in and converting a cooler, you could try this.

The mash tun is a vessel in which hot water is mixed with the grains in order to extract the sugars from the grains. This process is called mashing in home brewing. The grains then get lautered, or rinsed, with additional water to maximize the amount of sugars extracted. All of this is done to increase the efficiency and make better beer.

 In commercial breweries, the mash tun and lauter tun are two separate pieces of equipment. For home brewing purposes, they are combined into one piece of equipment. The mash tun is typically a converted cooler. You can buy a mash/lauter tun, but this is one of the most common do it yourself projects in home brewing. Check out the home brewing forums on the net, and you can also Google and You Tube to find step by step instructions and videos showing you how to convert a cooler into a mash tun. This project isn't that hard, and it is also cheap.

There are many options as far as what cooler you want to use, as well as how to set it up. Chances are, you have an old cooler around the house already. Make sure to some research on recommendations of other home brewers to ensure you choose the right cooler. The debates are endless as far as what is the best cooler to use for a tun. Different factors apply such as size, shape, and what type of strainer/filter you will use.

What type of sparging you will do is also important. Cooler isn't so important to batch sparging, but for fly sparging you will probably want a round cooler. For folks just getting started with all grain home brewing. the common question is how big does the mash tun have to be? This will depend on your batch size, efficiency and desired OG. These all work in conjunction to determine how much grain will be needed for the batch, as well as the amount of water to be used for mashing and sparging.

The cooler will need to be big enough to hold all of this. A basic way to calculate for mash tun size needed in quarts is (at 80% efficiency): (Desired OG X Batch Size)/17 = mash tun size. For example, 1.085 X 15 gallons is (85 X 15)/17=75 quart tun.

You may want to think ahead when purchasing a cooler to convert. Chances are you will start with 5 gallon batches, but at some point you may decide to try brewing a 10 gallon batch. In order to do this, your mash tun must be big enough to hold all that water and grains. You can start with a cooler big enough to handle the larger batches now, and still use it for the smaller batches until you are ready to make the jump to the bigger batches.

This way, you won't outgrow your tun. Plus, it will also allow you to make higher gravity beers, which require larger grain bills. Don't bother with a 5 gallon cooler because it is too small and will limit the beers you can make. If you never plan on making anything larger than a 5 gallon batch, or making higher gravity beers, then you can opt for one, but then you will limit yourself.

The design of the tun is dependent upon the type of sparging you will do. For batch sparging, tun design doesn't really factor in. It is more important in fly sparging. Most brewers new to all grain home brewing will try batch sparging because it is quicker and easier. Plus, many people convert coolers they already have, which typically will be a rectangular cooler. Be sure to research both methods first, to see which one might be your preferred method.

 For most brewers, they simply modify a rectangular cooler and batch sparge. With just a few items from your local hardware store, you can make your own mash tun for dirt cheap. Some parts needed include a ball valve, water supply line, washers, teflon tape and barb adapters. Look online and you will find step by step instructions and video tutorial showing you how to do it, and what pieces of hardware you need to get the job done. Besides the cost of the cooler, you will spend less than $30 at the hardware store. You can even find resources online that have the necessary parts together in a kit.

 The thermal capacity of the cooler, how well it is insulated and retains heat, is another important factor. The cooler needs to be able to hold a constant temperature for up to 90 minutes without losing too many degrees, so a well insulated cooler helps. Remember, they are designed to keep things cold, not warm. This is something to be sure to research thoroughly online home brewing forums to find what experienced home brewers have found to work best for them.

For fly sparging, round coolers are often the preferred choice. Fly sparging uses false bottoms for filters, and these usually come in round shapes. False bottoms evenly distribute the water over the grains, and help prevent channeling. Plus, the round shape of the cooler also helps prevent channeling.

Sparging is a process within home brewing of heating separate water to pour over the grains (after mashing is complete) in order to rinse additional sugars from them. This water is known as sparge water, and this process is done to increase efficiency.                                                                                          

 There are two basic types of sparging done in home brewing: batch sparging and fly sparging. Batch sparging involves repeated rinses of the grains in the mash tun. Traditional batch sparging consisted of adding sparge water to the drained tun, and allowing the grains to settle. Then, the water was drained off. This drain was known as the First Running. This process of soaking the grains and draining was repeated a few more times. The first running was used to make a batch of barley wine. The Second Running was used to brew the batch of beer. The remaining runnings were used to make smaller beers.

In today's home brewing, all of  the runnings are combined to make one batch of beer. The sparge water is used for the rinse, using half of it for the first running and the rest for the last running. Fly sparging differs in the fact that as the wort is drained from the tun, water is added back to the tun at the same rate as the runoff. You want to continuously keep the grain bed submerged in water.

It is important in fly sparging to drain the wort as slowly as possible. This will help extract as much sugars from the grains as possible and prevent the grain bed from becoming compacted, which will prevent the runoff and is known as a stuck sparge. You must also be careful to prevent channeling, which happens when the water hits only a couple places in the grain bed  and drills down to create channels. This results in only some of the grains getting thoroughly rinsed, while other parts of the grain bed do not get rinsed.

Because the grains are getting diluted with the sparge water, it is important to keep an eye on the pH of the runoff. If the pH is too high, you risk of extracting tannins from the grains, and that wull result in an undesireable bitterness in your beer. It may be necessary in fly sparging to acidify the sparge water to counteract the high pH. The fly sparging runoff can take an hour or more to complete.

For batch sparging, the runoff is done as quickly as possible. It isn't required, but it is better to do it that way. Because you are continuously diluting the grains in batch sparging, you do not have to be concerned with the pH. With batch sparging, the design of your lautering system does not matter as much as it does for fly sparging because you do not have concerns with channeling.

 Either way you sparge, the sparge takes place after a process known as vorlauf. This is a process to clarify the wort. A portion of the wort (1 to 2 liters) is drawn out of the tun after mashing and then gently poured back into the tun, making sure that the grain bed does not get disturbed. Basically, the grain bed acts as a filter to help clarity. Once the wort runs mostly clear, vorlauf is complete and you can then start sparging. One important note about vorlauf is that by running clear does not mean that the wort is transparent. Rather, that is is free of grain particles and debris.

Generally speaking, fly sparging gets you better efficiencies and batch sparging is easier and takes less time. Design of the tun also impacts efficiency. Round coolers are preferred for fly sparging because most false bottoms are round in shape. False bottoms are the preferred filtration for fly sparging because they better distribute the wort and prevent channeling. Both techniques will yield good efficiencied if you dial in your process.

You may suffer lower efficiencies on your first attempts at either one, but with some practice your equipment you can consistently hit higher efficiencies with either method of sparging. One way isn't necessarily better than the other, it is just a matter of personal preference and the equipment you have available.

The obvious point of beer brewing is to make good beer. A key component of that goal is to get good efficiency when you brew. The better your efficiency, the better the beer you make. Efficiency is the amount of sugars you extract from the grains. It is important to note that you will not get 100% efficiency because this would mean that you not only extracted all of the sugars, but that you will have also extracted undesirable tannins.

In home beer brewing, anything over 75% efficiency is good, and most home brewers shoot for efficiencies in the 75% to 90% range. Not only does better efficiency improve the quality of your beer, but you will also maximize the money spent on the grains. There are several factors that influence efficiency, here is a quick look at them.

First, the crush of the grain is important. You can buy the grains crushed, by having your LHBS crush them when you purchase them, or, if bought online, having them crushed prior to shipping. Some brewers opt to purchase or make their own grain mill in order to crush at home an additional time before using,

You can ask your grain provider to crush them an additional time, or at a finer crush, although they could charge for this. If the grains aren't crushed enough, then you won't get the full conversion of starch to sugar in the mash or the sparge, which will leave behind valuable sugars and hurt your efficiency. You can lose efficiency when mashing as well, and this is often attributed to the crush.

Keep in mind you do not want to crush the grains too fine, as this can lead to a stuck sparge. Speaking of sparging, you can lose efficiency in this step as well. Generally speaking, batch sparging is not as efficient as fly sparging. Home brewers choose to batch sparge because it is quicker, easier and doesn't depend upon the mash/lauter tun design. With a little practice and research, you can still get great efficiency using batch sparging, so do not outright dismiss it as being inferior to fly sparging. Whichever process you choose, if you perfect your technique, you can accomplish good efficiencies.

The design of your tun also affects efficiency. The design is more important to fly sparging, so it is possible that you use the wrong equipment for the chosen technique. It is important to avoid dead space in your tun, places where the wort can become trapped. The design factors that can impact efficiency are the shape of the tun, the size, the thermal capacity, as well as whether you use a false bottom, mesh screen or manifold.

The temperature you sparge at also is key. Sugars are more soluble at higher temperatures. Think of honey--if you heat it up, it becomes easier to pour. That's because you are making the sugars more soluble. Temperatures of 165F to 170F are ideal to maximize the extraction of sugars. However, you do not want to exceed 170F because then you will start to extract tannins.

The amount of water used for sparging is also important. More water will extract more sugars, but then you could dilute the wort too much, which will decrease your efficiency. Finally, target gravity of the beer also plays a factor. As the target gravity increases, so does the ratio of sparge water needed. This will result in a drop of efficiency. However, as you gain experience and get better at the process of beer brewing, you will be able to better predict this and account for it.